In My Mind
by dragongoddess13
Summary: Shuffle Prompt. The Avengers take the time to remember why Darcy is so special to them.


In My Mind

SR-71

Tomorrow

Darcy x Avengers

* * *

_**"The Boeing 747 was shot down as it approached the runway in Latvaria's capital city. Sources on the ground say, the attack was believed to have been a message from The Mandarin to Victor Von Doom after Latvaria's ruler signed a cooperation treaty with the Avengers in the hopes of cutting the Ten Rings Organization's supply line to their terrorist cells stationed in the Middle East. **_

_**The treaty came in the wake of Ten Rings' supporters crossing the border into Latvaria nearly six months ago in the hope of finding refuge from UN officials. Until then Doom's relations with the terrorist organization were unclear but they were assumed to be neutral partners. The police officials of the Sovereign nation proved speculation to be false when they arrested the terrorists and returned them across the border to the waiting UN soldiers. The Latvarian Dictator made it very clear afterward that any potential threat to Latvaria would be dealt with swiftly and without mercy, which includes ejecting all known associates of the Ten Rings as well as any other terrorist or terrorist organization who could be bring war to his people.**_

_**His stance came at a great surprise to the world. Victor Von Doom has been known throughout the years as the archenemy of New York based super hero/ scientists the Fantastic Four and has on numerous occasions attempted to take over the world. World leaders believe his change in political opinion stems from the recent fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the rise of HYDRA.**_

_**Aboard the airliner were the Latvarian Minister of defense Bosco Corvallis, the Ambassador to the United Nations Paula Hellman and the Avengers' representative, Darcy Lewis. At this time the only details we have about the crash itself are coming in from our field anchor Katerina Girard." **_**The anchor turned to the screen beside him.**_** "What can you tells us Katerina?"**_

_**"Well Lester in the wake of this tragedy we now know the plane itself was in the middle of landing and no more than a few hundred feet off the ground so any major damage done was done so by the surface to air missile fired from what we now know to be the mountains of Austria. Austrian officials have already begun operations to clear out the area of the cell responsible as well as any technology they left behind which will be turned over to the Avengers for immediate disposal. **_

_**Unfortunately the casualties have been numbered in the triple digits resting now at one hundred and fifty-three as clean up and recovery continues. Sources tell us that the Latvarian Minister of Defense was among the casualties but word on the UN ambassador and the Avengers representative is that they did survive; however, their conditions are unknown at this time. Lester." **_

_**"Thank you Katerina, we will continue to bring you updates on this tragedy as they come to us."**_

* * *

When Darcy accepted the extension on the job Pepper offered her, she was skeptical of her ability to do it. Her usual duties still applied, taking care of the Avengers (scientists and soldiers alike) and working as a liaison between Stark Industries and the team. The extension on her duties came in the form of a Representative between the Avengers and Government agencies (i.e. The three letter pool, the UN and the ambassadors to the different nations).

She was terrified, but Pepper and pretty much everyone else assured her she could do it. Her first meeting with the Ambassador to the UN had her close to a panic attack. Fortunately Paula Hellman understood her nerves and gave her some advice to help her calm down before they began their actual meeting. Paula had become a great friend and resource after that.

The real test came when she was called for a meeting at the Latvarian Embassy. The team had insisted she take one of them with her, that she have some kind of backup but at the time none of the Avengers were welcome at the Embassy. So Darcy went alone and despite her nerves she did well or at least as well as anyone could ever do given who she was dealing with.

Three years passed and Darcy worked hard. She spent years building a reputation and a network of allies that were ready willing and able to build a peaceful world. All of this coming in to replace her personal life, but in all honesty the Avengers and all that implied were more her friends than anything and on some level she thought of them as family, so there really wasn't much of a loss there.

She just wished she'd had a chance to say goodbye to them all before she left, because now she wasn't so sure she'd ever get to see them again.

* * *

Six months crawled by. The team and their associates spent hours at a time crammed into the room Tony had set aside on the private floors of Avengers tower for Darcy. The machines droned, beeping and buzzing every so often for whatever reason, filling the silence.

"Oh my god, this is ridiculous. Darcy would be pissed if she knew we were all sitting here moping." Jane finally said. She looked around the room daring anyone to argue.

"What do you want us to do then?" Coulson asked tiredly. Jane shrugged, slouching back in her chair. She sighed.

"In Asgard when fellow warriors are injured we tells stories of them, to remind ourselves of their good qualities. It is believed that such a tradition shows the injured party that there are friends and comrades rallied in support of them." Thor explained.

And that was the start of a new routine. Every night the team would gather and trade stories about Darcy.

On one particular night a month later, the team gathered once again. Jane went first.

_Thor had been gone for two months now and the constant stress of waiting for a break through, of working herself ragged, had left Jane exhausted and agitated. The constant surveillance from S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't help either._

_Darcy watched her carefully day in and day out, dutifully tending to her in her frantic heartbroken stupor. It was late one night when Jane was close to her breaking point that Darcy set the machines to run on auto and pulled Jane to the old sofa Eric use to crash on. _

_Jane put up a fight of course but in the end, she was just too tired to really try. Jane wasn't really sure where Darcy got the oversized bottle of Tequila but for that night, shot after shot, her worries, the stress and the weight finally slipped away._

_The next morning Agents Coulson and Barton found the two women passed out cold, the empty bottle on the floor with their forgotten shot glasses. When the Agents approached to wake them up, Jane shot up and off the couch, yelling at Darcy to 'get up, I know what I've been missing.' Darcy turned over on the couch, mumbling that the sun should go fuck itself and burying her head under the cushions._

"I remember that." Clint explained. "She threw her shoe at me when I tried to wake her up."

"Yea, Darcy's a lovable drunk, but she's mean when she's hung-over."

Clint goes next. "I probably shouldn't tell you any of this."

_Clint stopped short as he came through the door to Tony's lab. _

_"What are doing?" He asked suspiciously. Darcy jumped, wiping around quickly. _

_"Oh, it's just you." She replied and hand over her chest trying to calm her beating heart. "Be my look out would you?" She told him. He was confused, but he knew the makings of a prank when he saw one, so he did as she asked. _

_Honestly Clint didn't really know Darcy all that well. They'd met in New Mexico but didn't really talk and when she and Dr. Foster relocated to New York he had been busy with his own issues and didn't really have time to get to know her. Although he wasn't too proud to admit he'd admired her from afar. She had snarky sense of humor, intelligence rivaled by none, and a sense of loyalty that was hard to come by in his line of work. She also had a deep love of food that Clint shared. _

_Darcy worked at Tony's computer for a few more minutes, before moving to Clint's side. "What did you do?" He asked her as she pulled him along behind her. _

_"You'll see, but right now we have to get out of here before Tony comes back from lunch." She pulled him to the elevators before taking them up to the communal living room. He sat on the couch next to her as she pulled up the feeds to Tony's lab on the big screen TV. _

_Within minutes Tony returned, moving to the computer bank and typing in his user name and password. As he hit enter a blood curdling scream rang out followed immediately by Tony's own high pitched scream. _

_Clint couldn't breathe he was laughing so hard. He watched as Tony looked around, making sure he was alone. "Haha very funny." He mumbled to himself, taking only a minute to fix the code Darcy had changed. _

_With that he reset his work station and got down to business. Ten minutes later he commanded the music to start and was once again startled when what he expected to happen didn't. Instead of playing Black Sabbath or ACDC, Kesha blared out over the speakers. Clint could just make out his voice screaming over the lyrics._

_"LEWIS!"_

"You helped her with that? It took me three days to rebuild my playlists." Tony sounded indignant.

"Hey, in my defense I had no idea what she was doing."

"Wait, what were you doing down in Tony's lab anyway?" Bruce questioned. Clint hesitated, clearing his throat.

"Well, um... So hey who wants to go next?"

Thor spoke next.

_Thor liked sitting on Tony's landing pad. The height did wonders to clear his mind, the wind calming him. The air was crisp tonight as the lights of the city twinkled around him. Jane was on one of her Science benders and he didn't feel like joining the non-science members of the team for movie night._

_So much had changed in the last few years. His father banishing him and then falling into the Odin sleep. Loki trying to take over Asgard by force. Watching Loki fall from the Bifrost and then appearing on Midgard with a nefarious scheme and an army. Watching people try to put their lives back together was by far the most difficult of all though. Knowing his brother, blood or not, had killed so many and destroyed the lives of innocent people all for his only glory. As if the strong willed people of Midgard would ever lay down for him._

_Thor realized he must have been pretty deep in his own thoughts if he didn't notice Darcy's presence until she sat down next to him. She was doing a fairly good job of not looking down as she wrapped her coat tighter around her body. _

_"Why the long face big guy?" She asked over the wind. _

_"I am merely contemplating past events." Thor explained. Darcy didn't reply right away and Thor wasn't sure she was going to until she finally spoke up._

_"It's not your fault you know that right?" She said. Thor smiled lightly to himself. Most people who met Darcy didn't know how to see passed her exterior. She wore her quirkiness and snark like armor and most people didn't care to look passed all of that to see the intelligent, insightful young woman she is. "The choices people make, are their own, and even if there is some kind of influence it doesn't change the fact that the final decision is theirs." _

_"You sound as though you have experience in such matters, my friend." _

_"Yea. A little too much honestly." She laughed humorously. Thor took it by her tone that she didn't want to talk about it._

_"I know I am not directly responsible for the choices Loki made, but everyone out there only knows the Loki who tried to rule Midgard. They do not know the boy I played with, the man I grew alongside. They did not watch him fall in love only to lose it. They were not there the numerous times he saved my life and the lives of our friends." He paused, breathing deeply. "They did not sit by while others mocked him, they did not join in, claiming it simple jesting between brothers. They did not watch their father look down on him, ignore the signs that something was not right between father and son."_

_The wind was getting stronger and Thor moved a bit closer to keep Darcy steady. She leaned a bit into his side, soaking up his warmth. When she spoke again, it was only his supernatural hearing that allowed him to hear her._

_"My dad has spent his whole life in and out of prison." She began. "He spent most of his life in the company of mobsters and gangs. He's been arrested for racketeering, smuggling, drug possession, pretty much anything you can think of related to the Mafia." She took a deep breath. "Anyway, my mom always stood by him, and I know that kind of loyalty isn't really a weakness, but I could see it in her eyes, she was worried. Everything was weighing heavy on her, but she still wouldn't leave him."_

_"I thought the final straw would come when he dragged my older brother into the life. He was always careful to keep him from getting into trouble. I was always so angry though, I didn't understand how they could do the things they'd done, and I couldn't understand why my mom just let it happen even though it was killing her."_

_"Then one day the police showed up and arrested both of them, my dad and my brother. They killed a witness together and didn't realize that they had been caught on a security camera. Their lawyer told us that we should be there every step of the way for the trial, that we should show the jury that they weren't monsters. My mom went along with it no problem. A wife supports her family, but I could barely contain how mad I was."_

_She paused taking deep calming breaths. "The guy they killed, he had a family, a life and they took it all away."_

_"What happened?" Thor asked when she hesitated to continue. _

_"It came to light half way through the trial that a rival mob set them up. They tampered with the video to make it look like they were there at the same time as the victim. They were released and came home a few days later. I could tell my dad saw this as a victory, that he was invincible. I steered clear of all of them for a while." She leaned into him more. "Then one day my mom confronted me about my attitude. She yelled at me in front of my bother and dad, telling me what a horrible daughter I was because I wouldn't support them. My dad felt the need to reiterate that they weren't guilty, and all I could say was 'yea, this time.' After that they tried to make things better but I didn't want to be dragged back into the cycle. I graduated high school a few weeks later, moved in with a friend until College started. We exchanged Christmas cards, a few phone calls, but that's about it."_

_"The point is they made the decision to do bad things. And maybe I was wrong too for not supporting them, maybe I was right. Hindsight is 20/20. But at some point you have to realize that you are not responsible for other people's lives. Only they can make the choices that guide them down certain paths. Whether they blame you is their own problem, not yours. Keep moving forward; don't let them hold you back."_

"I had no idea she went through all that." Steve murmured.

"Now that I think about she doesn't ever really talk about her past, or her family. I just know she doesn't go home for holidays." Jane added.

"Darcy has family?" Tony sounded outraged. They all looked to him surprised.

"Tony?" Pepper spoke softly, trying to calm him.

"Darcy has family and they're not here? She's been in a coma for seven months, her plane was shot out of the sky in a foreign country by terrorists and her family couldn't be bothered to be here, even for a few days?" He stormed out, leaving the team speechless and typing commands on his phone to Jarvis to find her families contact information.

"There is no contact information listed in her medical or employment records, sir. Would you like me to run a background to search for it?"

"Quickly, please."

Tony found himself in his lab with a bottle of scotch. He sighed, sitting back in the seat of one of his convertibles. He let his story play out behind his closed eyes.

_"What's that for?" A feminine voice, which was definitely not Pepper's asked behind him. He turned to find Dr. Foster's mouthy intern looking over some blueprint on the table. _

_"An engine powered by the arc reactor to clean water for free in third world countries. What are you doing here?" Tony replied quickly._

_She turned to him an impressed smile on her face. "Cool. Pepper asked me to bring you lunch." She held out the take put bags from the shawarma place around the corner. _

_She set them on the counter next to him. He looked down at the bag and drink. "Why did she send you?" He asked._

_"Because no one else will come near you when you're in Science!mode." She grinned. "Apparently, between you, Jane and Bruce, the intimidation factor for the baby scientists is feint worthy." _

_"And you're not intimidated?" _

_"Nope, I've been taking care of Jane for two years now, while going to school to finish my degree. Jane's level of crazy is about as bad as it gets. Especially on a full curriculum and no sleep." Tony hummed._

_"What's your major?" He asked digging through the bag and pulling out his food. _

_"Political Science." Tony paused, looking up at her. _

_"How exactly does a poli-sci major become an intern for an Astrophysicist?" Darcy shrugged._

_"I was the only applicant, or at least that's what Jane thinks." Darcy replied an evil grin on her face. Tony raised an eyebrow in intrigue. _

_"Do tell."_

_"I may have hacked into her email and deleted the other three applicants' emails." Tony thought for a moment before handing her one of his sandwiches. _

_"Does Jane have you doing anything?" She shook her head._

_"Nope, Thor kidnapped her an hour ago for 'lunch' so they probably won't be back until dinner time." _

_"Then pull up a chair, want to see the new code for the Stark phone?" _

_"Oh em gee yes!" She replied as he pulled up the spread on his holo-table between them. _

_After that Darcy carved out a place for herself in Tony's lab. So much so, that Pepper eventually hired her to watch over all the scientists. Tony was thrilled. Somehow she managed to evolve from Dr. Foster's intern to something closer to his cute little kid sister._

Pepper found Tony an hour later, starring at two mug shots and a DMV photo.

"Is that her family?" Tony nodded. Pepper slid into the seat next to him.

"Her father and brother were never arrested again; by all accounts they've gone straight. Her mother went back to school to become a nurse, her brother became an electrician and her father is a mechanic. They live in the suburbs of Long Island."

Pepper took the bottle and glass from him and turned them over to Dummy, then turned back to him and relaxed into his side.

"This is going to sound kind of weird but I love how much you care about her." Tony squinted down at her. "That's why I asked her to bring you lunch that day. I knew she could handle being in charge of the labs, but I wanted to see how you would react to her. I knew you would like her though."

"Oh, how so?" She smiled up at him.

"Because Phil liked her. He wrote a whole report on her for S.H.I.E.L.D., informing the Director how stupid it would be not to have her on their team."

"Mmm." Was all he said in reply.

His silence gave Pepper time to think.

_Pepper stepped into the lab, expecting to find the scientists three in utter disarray. Exhausted, beaten and possible malnourished. Instead, however, she found a short spunky brunette expertly coaxing Jane to eat like a Zoo Keeper talking to a skittish animal. _

_Pepper watched fascinated as she flitted from Jane to Bruce, passing the older man a mug of tea and an organic bagel before he could even ask for it. He smiled at her, laughing at a joke, probably about his weird food, and then returned to work munching on his lunch. _

_The real show started when the young woman (who she remember was named Darcy) turned back to Jane, finding her lunch abandoned, and her face buried in her readings. Pepper is fairly certain that anyone at this point would have lost it with the absent minded scientist, scolding her like a child, but not this woman. She walked up to Jane's desk and asked Jane about her work. As she began to explain everything, Jane picked up reading, holding them out for Darcy to see. Darcy took them from Jane passing the older woman the plate of food in return, so subtly Pepper was sure Jane hadn't even noticed. Jane ate from the plate absently as Darcy read through the readings, and when she handed the papers back, Jane passed the plate back in return, this time empty. _

_Darcy smiled at Jane and picked up her mug. Great work as always. I'll get you some more coffee." And with that Darcy turned and left. _

_Later that night Pepper was working on her tablet in bed, reading through the profile Phil had put together on her for S.H.I.E.L.D. Political Science major, good with computers, and especially good with people. She's opinionated and strong willed, and rarely backs down from challenges placed in front of her even if it would be in her best interest to do so. _

_Pepper trusted Phil's opinion and observation skills. So if he thought highly of her, she knew she could put money on that. The only problem that remained was her ability to work with the imposing personality of one Tony Stark. _

_The test she set up went better than expected. Not only did Darcy and Tony get along, but he seemed to take a shine to her, showing her projects he was working on and actually asking her opinion, not just hinting that he wanted it._

_The next morning Pepper called Darcy into her office and offered her the job. She didn't know if it was endearing or sad that she had no idea how much she deserved it_.

"Do you think after she moved out they tried to reconcile with her?" Tony questioned. Pepper wasn't really sure if he wanted her to answer. "And if they did, did she let them?"

"I don't know, Tony."

"Her emergency contacts are us, not them, so... I don't know what I'm trying to say."

"It couldn't hurt to call them." Pepper told him, leaning up to place a kiss on his cheek. He nodded in agreement.

"Promise me something?" He asked. Pepper nodded looking up at him. "If we ever have kids, don't let me be my father."

* * *

Sam, Steve, Clint, Natasha and Bucky were gathered at the bar down the street. A usual haunt for the team. They each had their own fond memories here, but Sam's were almost exclusively of Darcy.

_Sam was pulled out of his thoughts. "What's up Icarus?" He snorted, turning toward Darcy as she took a seat on the stool next to him. _

_"Icarus? Really?" She shrugged. She waved to the bar tender, ordering a beer. Sam took a good look at her as she took a swig of her drink. Her hair was down and straightened, her make up done to impress and the little black dress she wore, clung to every curve like a second skin. The fuck me pumps completed the look perfectly. _

_"Looks like someone's ready for a night out." He commented. Her smile was bitter._

_"Just got done actually." _

_"Oh, hot date not go so well?" He asked. She scoffed, drinking again from the bottle. She was quiet for a moment before she abruptly turned to him._

_"It's my boobs, isn't it?" It took all of Sam's will power not to look down. "That has to be the only reason guys think I'm easy." _

_"What happened?"_

_Darcy rolled her eyes as the evening replayed in her mind. "The main course hadn't even come before he started trying to cop a feel under the table."_

_"What did you do?" Sam hid his clenched fist in his lap._

_"I broke his finger. At least, I'm pretty sure it's broken, it was sitting at a really unnatural angle when he bolted from the table screaming in pain." _

_"Holy shit, you're perfect." He murmured drinking from his own beer. She smiled at him. "Is it wrong that I'm a little turned on by that?" _

_She laughed. "So, what's a good looking guy like you doing here drinking all alone?" Sam shrugged._

_"I'm just not in the mood to try to start a potential relationship." _

_"So then don't. You do know there is such a thing as a one night stand, right?" He smirked._

_"Yes, I'm well aware." _

_"So, what's holding you back?" He shrugged. "Don't see anyone you're interested in?" _

_"Eh, I guess if I had to choose that woman over by the dart board is nice." Darcy turned to look for her in the crowd._

_"The blonde?" Sam nodded. "You have good taste." She took a long draw from her beer, finishing it off. "Wait here." She jumped down off the stool and headed straight for the blonde woman. _

_Sam watched in shock as she talked to said woman, occasionally both turning back to look at him. After a few minutes, Darcy led the woman toward him. When she stopped next to him she turned to the woman. _

_"Sara, have ya met Sam?"_

Natasha looked proud of herself.

"You taught her how to break that guy's finger didn't you?" Clint accused. She look on her face was all the answer any of them needed.

_The lab had been infiltrated by Hydra in an attempt to take Dr. Foster hostage. Darcy being the insanely brave/noble/stupid girl that she was got in the way. She had three different invaders on the ground with her Taser stash before one of them over took her and broke her nose with his fist. She was forced the ground roughly by his comrades, adding a few cuts and scrapes and more bruises to the count. She felt the muzzle of a gun on the back of her head as Jane screamed. There was a split second where she thought she wasn't going to walk away from this, and then the lighting crashed and the thunder rumbled. The muzzle wasn't pressing to her skin anymore and the relief she felt sent a wave of tears to her eyes. It was Bucky who pulled her up to a sitting position. She flinched when he tried to examine her nose._

"_That's definitely broken." Bruce said watching her over Bucky's shoulder._

"_What the hell were you thinking, doll?" he scolded. The rest of the team was there too, taking down the body count. When all was said and done they'd lost three lab techs and one agent. On the other hand, Hydra lost all fifty of their men, forty-seven dead or mortally wounded, and three knocked out cold and in custody for later interrogation. _

"_That I didn't want my best friend to get scientist-napped by Nazis." Darcy groaned. Later in her hospital room, where they're keeping her for observation, she gets a triple team scolding from Clint, Bucky and Steve, on knowing your limitations and remembering that you're the 'weakest link' (they don't actually call her that, but she can read between the lines) and learning that her safety is a major concern of theirs and worrying them is not nice. All the while, Natasha sits in the corner of the room, with a thousand yard stare as if waiting for her to argue with them. She doesn't, but she puts on her best rebel without a cause look to hide the fact that being spoken to like a child, as if it would keep her from doing the same thing again in the same circumstances, doesn't hurt just a little bit more than her broken nose. _

_A few weeks passed with Darcy avoiding Clint, Steve and Bucky. The disapproving looks they had given her during their lecture hadn't really faded from her mind and she really didn't want to associate her close friends with bad memories. So she kept her distance until she was sure the first thing she thought of when she saw them wasn't disappointment. She was pretty sure she knew exactly how to fix it. _

_Darcy found Natasha in the kitchen one morning. She was sitting at the breakfast bar eating a fit and healthy breakfast when she walked in. Darcy moved to make her own breakfast, fully aware of the nagging question in the back of her mind. As her pop-tarts heat in the toaster, she finally makes the decision to ask said question. She turns to find Natasha already looking at her expectantly. She takes it in stride._

"_Will you teach me how to be badass?" the corners of Natasha's mouth twitch up. _

"_We'll start when you're finished with breakfast." _

_Hours later, Darcy is sweating like a pig trying to keep up with the basics but she's not giving up no matter what. Her training ends three hours after it begins, flat on her back and Steve, Clint and Bucky coming in ready to give Natasha a piece of their, apparently collective, mind._

"_What are you doing Natalia?" _

"_What I've been asked to do." Darcy huffs on the floor, refusing Clint's hand up as Steve attempts to lay into Natasha. The fact that they're sleeping together reminds Steve to hold back a little. He should know better when it comes to the former Russian spy. "Look, if you're going to lecture Darcy about going out of her way to protect a friend with no training and then object when I actually train her so she not defenseless anymore, then maybe you should keep your mouths shut, because you obviously don't know what you want."_

"_It really doesn't matter what you want." Darcy piped in, drawing their attention and smirk from Natasha. _

"_Darce." Bucky tries._

"_No, this is my decision, this is what I want and if you don't like that, well, too bad." Natasha looks proud as Darcy walks off toward the elevators; she turns her smug smile on the three men around her. _

"_This is going to be fun."_

"What about you two?" Natasha questioned Steve and Bucky.

"What about us?" Steve looked confused.

"You've never told us what your moments with Darcy were that cemented her in your life as a close friend?"

"Food." Steve replied as Bucky answered;

"Books."

_Steve walked into the kitchen searching out the source of the most amazing smells. Steve had just returned to Avengers tower a month previous with Sam and Bucky in tow. Bucky was still shying away from people for the most part, disappearing every once in a while for some peace and quiet, leaving Steve to sit at the ready should something go wrong and he need to help. But now Steve was bored, there was only so much he could do locked up in his apartment with or without Bucky and while Sam had taken to catching him up on pop culture, he was getting tired of watching TV. _

_So he decided to explore the tower, eventually ending up on the communal floor in the hopes of running into someone friendly. Instead he ended up following his noise into the kitchen, coming face to face with the back of a short, curvy brunette woman in a stained white t-shirt with 'Coulson Lives' written in big black letters. She turned around as he walked in, big smile lighting up her face when she spots him. _

"_Perfect timing, Captain, I was just about to go get you." Steve looked confused. _

"_Why? And please, just Steve."_

"_Well, Just Steve, I made you dinner." She explained as the timer on the oven went off. She turned to the oven, and pulled out a large cherry pie that had his mouth watering. When she turned back to the counter to place the pie on the cooling rack, she practically preened at the growling in his stomach. "Bucky said you were just locking yourself away in your room. He was worried about you, so I made you dinner so you'd have an excuse to come out."_

"_You talked to Bucky?" it's said so softly she's not sure she was meant to hear it. "He talked to you?" this time his voice is stronger. She nodded slowly, not sure if he thought it was a good thing that his best friend was socializing. "I didn't think he was ready for that." Darcy laughed._

"_He might not have been." He squinted at her. "I'm kind of abrasive, loud, opinionated…annoying. I'm kind of hard to ignore. So whether he was ready or not, I didn't really give him a choice." She looked abashed and Steve admired her honesty. He chuckled. _

"_You probably remind him of the man he was." she blushed._

"_Not sure that's a good thing, but…" she left it hanging as another timer went off. She moved to the bigger industrial oven and pulled out a roasting pan, filling the kitchen with an even more intense aroma than before. _

"_Damn, Doll, that smells amazing." Bucky said as he entered the kitchen. "What do you think, Punk?" he questioned, slapping Steve on the back. _

"_She made a cherry pie too." Bucky smirked. _

_Steve watched his old friend interact with the woman who still hadn't told him her name. He was smiling and joking and flirting with her as if he'd never fallen, as if their lives had never been turned upside down in the first place. He didn't know who this woman was, but he would never be able to thank her enough for what she's done._

"_Don't just stand there, Punk, you gotta try this." Bucky was already taking another bite from the huge pot roast when Steve stepped up to try. He took the piece he was offered and popped it into his mouth. It was warm and tender and just the right side of savory. Steve felt his brain shut down at the taste. "Well? Don't leave her hanging, tell Darcy what you think." _

"_That is probably the most amazing thing I've ever tasted." Her wide smile made him feel like he'd just won the lottery. It was not so slowly becoming obvious why Bucky hadn't strayed away from her. She was beautiful, sure, but she was caring, warm and that smile could melt the hardest heart. He didn't know her and she certainly didn't know them, but she was obviously going out of her way to be a friend to them, to Bucky anyway, and that alone was enough for Steve. _

"_I also made baked potatoes, roasted vegetables and I used Nana Lewis' recipe for fresh bread." Bucky carved the roast, while Steve and Darcy set to work on the table, setting out dishes for the team and all the food. When the rest of the team had arrived, Bucky brought the roast in. The Avengers and all those that apply, ate like a family that night and most nights afterward. Darcy regularly sought Steve out when she tried a new recipe or tweaked an old family one._

"I guess it's true what they say. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Sam laughed. Clint spoke up.

"What about you Barnes? Didn't know you were a reader." Bucky shrugged. Steve laughed.

"He's always been that way. But you couldn't tell anyone. It might hurt his image in the neighborhood." Bucky elbowed him as he laughed.

_Escaping his shared apartment was easier than Bucky thought it would be. As it turned out all he had to do was tell Steve he was going for a walk and he just let him go. It made sense the more he thought about it though. With Jarvis around, it was impossible to get into trouble without everyone finding out about it. _

_Bucky didn't really have a plan. He only wanted to stretch his legs so he didn't really think about where he was going he just went. Fittingly enough he ended up in the library. He perused the shelves, reading the spines. Every once in a while he would pull one down and read the jacket, before putting it back. Nothing seemed to catch his attention. It wasn't so much that there was nothing worth reading, on the contrary, this library had everything a book lover could want, he just missed the idea of owning something of his own, specifically his impressive book collection from before the war. Anytime he had his own money growing up, he'd run down to the local book store, a little shop a few blocks from where they lived in Brooklyn, and buy a new book. An adventure, or a mystery, it didn't matter; he just wanted a new story to lose himself in again and again. He loved that shop; it was like a second home to him. Mr. O'Neil's bookstore was one of those places where everyone was welcome, especially kids. Frank O'Neil believed every child should have access to books regardless of where they came from, and he did a hell of a job making sure that any kid that came into his store left with a book whether they could pay for it or not. _

_Bucky was just about to give up and leave when a startled voice sounded from the door. "Oh, hi." He turned to find a brown hair, blue eyed young woman, clutching a book to her chest. She was in jeans and old chucks, with a big grey hoody, ripped at the neck and holes in the cuffs. "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude; no one's usually in here." _

"_It's ok." he turned to her, his hands in his pockets. She smiled at him, walking up to him as if she had no idea who he was, and that she should be afraid of him. She held out her hand to him._

"_I'm Darcy." Hesitantly he returned the gesture, shaking her hand._

"_Bucky." _

"_It's nice to finally meet you." She said it as if she meant it, which threw Bucky off a little. Most of the opinion over his return so far had been uneasy. He was welcome, but everyone was cautious around him. Darcy didn't seem to mind his past at all though. He didn't know if that made her really stupid or really open minded. "Find anything interesting?" she asked him, moving to one of the shelves and depositing the book she brought in with her. He shrugged, before realizing she couldn't see him with her back to him. _

"_Sure." He didn't sound very enthusiastic. When she turned back to him she was frowning and he didn't like it on her at all. _

"_I understand, I usually only come in here to read my own books, or when I'm too lazy to trek all the way to O'Neil's in Brooklyn." _

"_O'Neil's?" he interrupted, for a second he thought he'd scared her, until a smile slowly crept across her face. _

"_How much do you actually remember?" Of all the things he expected to hear from her that wasn't even in the ball park. _

"_Chunks," he replied. "A little bit more every day, but so far everything is in chunks with spaces in between."_

"_Can you leave the tower?" She was getting excited and he wasn't sure if he should be worried. He'd barely replied with a 'yes' when she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the elevator. He let her, more curious than threatened. When the elevator arrived she turned to him. "Meet me down in the lobby?" The unadulterated hope on her face made it impossible for him to say no, so he nodded and watched as she got on the elevator going up. _

_He met her in the lobby a few minutes later and then proceeded to follow her out on the street. A nostalgic trip on the subway had him telling her of all the times he and Steve jumped the turnstile to escape the neighborhood bullies, Steve always picked a fight with. Then walking though the old neighborhood, he pointed out where everything used to be, or what each store front was back in the day. He surprised himself with how much he remembered about the different people. Darcy listened intently, smiling brightly and somewhere along the way he realized he was smiling too. _

_They finally made it to O'Neil's. The building façade was updated, but the sign was still the same, a little fresh paint, but the logo hadn't changed. "Are you ready for this?" she asked him excited. He nodded, finding himself as excited as she was. She took him by surprise, however, when she took a hold of his metal hand and pulled him into the store. _

"_Hey Darcy, long time no see." The red head behind the counter greeted. _

"_Hey, April." she replied, pulling Bucky up to the counter. "This is my friend Bucky." Friend? Did she just call him a friend? The woman, who he now knew to be April, smiled at him. _

"_It's nice to finally meet you."_

"_Finally?" he looked between them, as April stepped aside, gesturing to the numerous frames on the wall behind the counter. She then reached over and pulled one off the wall, handing it to him. Bucky starred down at it, his recovered memories taking him back to a simpler time. _

"_Grandpa always told stories about the kids in the neighborhood. You were his favorite story. James 'Bucky' Barnes, war hero, who loved a good book and always helped out at the store if he thought Grandpa, needed it. You were his hero." April sounded proud. Since it was revealed to the public who he really was and everything that had happened to him since he fell from that train, there had been an endless stream of debate. Some people thought he should be punished for his crimes, others realized immediately that he hadn't been in control of himself, but none of them ever sounded proud of him or what he'd done before his supposed death. _

_He remembered the day the picture was taken. He had gone to the bookstore with the hopes of finding something to distract him from the knowledge that Steve was once again in the hospital. He was in quarantine, so Bucky wasn't allowed to be with him. Mr. O'Neil always seemed to know what was going on, and welcomed Bucky as soon as he came in, putting him right to work. Mrs. O'Neil came in later with dinner for both of them. She took their picture behind the counter as they sorted through new boxes of books. _

"_Do you think I could get a copy of this?" April smiled._

"_Of course," he handed the picture back. "I'll go print a copy in the back, you guys help yourself." She disappeared into the back room._

_On the walk back to the tower, Bucky stopped grabbing Darcy's attention._

"_What's wrong?" he huffed a laugh._

"_For once, absolutely nothing." He told her. "Thank you." She smiled so brightly at him he couldn't understand how her face didn't hurt. _

"_Anytime."_

* * *

Coulson had grown unintentionally close to Darcy in New Mexico. Her knowledge of her personal rights and her understanding of the way things worked, constantly put him, as leader of the New Mexico site, in her crosshairs. She went out of her way to make the agents' jobs harder forcing him to come in and oversee the situations himself. In this time he realized rather, (and he'd never admit this allowed) slowly, why she was being such a pain. A quick look in her file, told him she had trust issues. Something anyone would have if the people, who were supposed to love you and have your back, were too busy breaking the law and using you to get off on murder charges. So, instead of having her shipped back to school, he sort of took her under his wing, listened to her when she needed to vent and took her out for a bite to eat every once in a while when Jane was having trouble and taking it out on Darcy.

At some point she had started seeing him as a father figure, which if he was honest with himself, and the director because he noticed her change too, he thought of her as a daughter of sorts as well. When the team found out he was still alive, she had gotten pretty upset over her wasted time in mourning. That night at the party Tony and Pepper threw for him in celebration she got so black out drunk she had to be carried to her apartment. Somewhere between the time she was put in bed and the next morning, she had ordered a box full of shirts from an online screen printing company. All of the shirts read 'Coulson Lives' in big bold print. She didn't look the least bit sorry when every member of the Avengers, their support and his own team wore them all on the same day once a week for a month.

It had been nine months now, since last he'd seen her smile. He missed her smile.

_Coulson found Darcy curled up on the sofa of the communal living room, the lights out. Earlier when he'd met her in the lab he had seen her in her full date attire. Tight black dress and black pumps, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't slightly upset that she was going out like that. Now she had changed out of her 'little black dress' and pumps and into her oversized PJs. The blanket wrapped around her made her look like a lump of pillows in the dark. "Darcy?" he called out softly. He heard her sigh, the lump shifting around slightly. He sat next to her, letting her come to him if she really wanted his comfort. _

_A few minutes passed and he felt the couch dip next to him, before the weight of her head resting on his shoulder. He could feel the tension in her body as he rested an arm over her shoulders. "Do you want to talk about it?" _

"_Just picked the wrong one again." Was her only answer and he really wasn't sure he wanted to know how she found that out. It was always hard to believe that an intelligent, beautiful woman like Darcy was so prone to attracting jerks, but she did, constantly. She always let her instincts tell her if a guy was worth her time, and from what he could tell her instincts were usually really good. "I just don't get it you know? I either pick a jerk who thinks I'm easy or a really great guy who can't handle the people in my life." Coulson pulled her a little closer. He was quiet for the longest time, thinking. _

"_One day you'll find the right one. The guy who sees you how we see you." She laughed._

"_Oh, and how's that?" _

"_Amazing."_

_He could see her smile even in the dark._

* * *

"_I need to talk to the Hulk." Darcy said, effectively stopping all work in the lab. Tony looked extremely amused over her shoulder. Bruce took a deep breath._

"_Why?" _

"_Because I need to talk to him. Please?"_

"_Yea, Bruce, please?" Bruce shot a glare at Tony, before focusing on the small woman in front of him. _

"_I'm sorry; I can't just let him out for no reason. I have no idea what he'll do." Darcy didn't look impressed much to Tony's increasing amusement. _

"_Yes you can. Just ask him nicely to behave himself." She said it as if it were obvious. Tony was moving closer, the smile on his face getting bigger. _

"_Darcy, it's not that simple." By now Steve and Bucky had walked in for maintenance on Bucky's arm. Steve looked horrified when he realized what Darcy was trying to do and Bucky seemed intrigued. _

"_Darcy, have you completely lost it?" Steve questioned her. "I know you have a penchant for getting into dangerous situations but this is ridiculous." Darcy spun on her heels, startling Steve with a fierce glare._

"_Shh." She hushed, spinning back around. Tony and Bucky did their best not to laugh, but Steve's fish face wasn't helping. _

"_Look I know he scares you, but did you ever think that maybe if you stop treating him like a monster, he would stop acting like one? People tend to conform to the stereotypes forced on them by society." Sometimes it was easy to forget Darcy had managed to earn her Master's degree since coming to New York. Times like these reminded them quickly. Bruce looked around. Steve still looked trepidations, but Tony and Bucky seemed to support Darcy. Between the three of them, he knew she would be safe if something went wrong. _

_He indicated he wanted her to stand back, before he closed his eyes and concentrated on the second consciousness inside him. Darcy smiled up at the big green man in front of her. _

"_What do you want?" his voice is deep, and he's trying to sound menacing, but Darcy has a feeling he's just blowing smoke. _

"_I have a surprise for you." Her smile was blinding, but Hulk was still a little hesitant. _

"_What?" _

"_Close your eyes and wait here?" she asked politely. He grunted, not amused but she didn't back down and eventually he rolled his eyes before sighing and closing them. _

_Darcy darted out of the lab quickly, before running back in rolling a catering cart in front of her. Tony snorted, Steve starred in disbelief and Bucky seemed utterly taken by her. She parked the cart in front of Hulk. "Ok, open your eyes." he did, squinting in confusion at the enormous green cake in front of him. "Happy Birthday!" she exclaimed excitedly. _

"_I'll be damned." Tony laughed. _

"_Hulk birthday?" Darcy nodded._

"_Of course, I made you dinner too." Hulk looked between the cake and Darcy. Then Darcy and Tony, who was still smiling like a fool. He noticed Steve had actually relaxed now and Bucky looked proud of Darcy. He looked back down at the cake and then back up at Darcy. She was still smiling at him; like she was so happy to be there with him on his "birthday". He finally said something he never felt the need to say before now._

"_Thank you." _

"_**Hulk miss Darcy." **_His voice echoed in Bruce's head.

"Me too."

"_**Hulk Smash rings." **_he lacked the usual anger that would have put Bruce on guard. Hulk had grown quite close to Darcy since she threw him a birthday party. He'd even saved her a time or two, but now he was powerless to do anything and Bruce knew the Hulk knew he couldn't fix this in his usual way. It didn't change the fact that Bruce was just as angry as Hulk over all of this. Darcy had never done anything to anyone, but here she was trapped in her own body. He wanted to hurt someone, anyone who had something to do with this.

"We'll get our chance eventually, I promise."

* * *

To Be Continued….


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